AuthorTopic: The Beach Boys (Read 70370 times)

BRI has four shareholders: Brian, Mike, Al and Carl's estate (Dennis's estate sold his share to the other four, Bruce and David were never shareholders). Those four parties legally make up The Beach Boys and get to decide what's done with the band's legacy. Obviously no BRI shareholder can possibly fire another BRI shareholder.

The live band is a different thing. Many years ago, BRI sold the exclusive license to perform live as The Beach Boys to Mike. So he can go on stage with whoever he wants and call it The Beach Boys, and ever since 1998 he's chosen to tour with just Bruce and a bunch of hired hands.

In his letter Mike Love says :

The name "The Beach Boys" is controlled by Brother Records Inc., which was founded by the original members of the Beach Boys and whose sole shareholders voted over a decade ago to grant me an exclusive license to tour as "The Beach Boys." With it, I’ve felt a great responsibility to uphold, honor and further our legacy. For better or worse, I’ve been a constant link to the history of the Beach Boys through every live performance -- bar none.

So that means Four Beach Boys gave the right to One Beach Boy to tour pretending to be Five Beach Boys. And even if Three Beach Boys disagree with the One Beach Boy then this One Beach Boy is now saying "You're not the Beach Boys so I'll do what I want and make the most of all the publicity surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of the Five Beach Boys and pretend I'm you. By the way I love you profoundly so I'll pretend I'm defending your legacy when in fact I'm making as much money as I can for me and my friend Bruce.I'm doing this for better or worse. No, actually it's just for the worse so I can tarnish the Good Vibrations".

So that means Four Beach Boys gave the right to One Beach Boy to tour pretending to be Five Beach Boys. And even if Three Beach Boys disagree with the One Beach Boy then this One Beach Boy is now saying "You're not the Beach Boys so I'll do what I want and make the most of all the publicity surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of the Five Beach Boys and pretend I'm you. By the way I love you profoundly so I'll pretend I'm defending your legacy when in fact I'm making as much money as I can for me and my friend Bruce.I'm doing this for better or worse. No, actually it's just for the worse so I can tarnish the Good Vibrations".

1. Around 1998, Dennis and Carl were dead, Brian wasn't into being a Beach Boy anymore and Al was tired of being part of a golden oldies jukebox. Mike wanted to keep going. So yes, he got an official blessing from the others.

2. Mike and Bruce have never pretended to be the original Beach Boys. In all the promotional material and interviews I've seen of the Beach Boys' pre-reunion live band, they've always been very open about the fact that it would be just the two of them.

3. Read the article carefully. Mike Love does not have the authority to tell Brian or Al if they are Beach Boys or not. He however does have the authority to hire or fire them from the live band. Because Brian and Al gave him that authority.

4. The part about "defending the legacy" actually makes a whole lot of sense. The reunion line-up played glorious, sold out concerts in stadiums and prestigious concert halls. The Mike & Bruce Band is a different thing, they usually play casinos, county fairs and private parties. The full line-up including Brian, Al and Dave is too special for that circuit (for which a new tour had already been booked before the big reunion tour), that's all that Mike was trying to say. And I think he's absolutely right about that.

5. Why would two 70+ year old millionaires keep doing their jobs, unless they really, really love doing it? Mike has for the past 51 years been a member of the best-selling American band ever and co-wrote some of their biggest hits. Bruce has been a member of that same band for 42 years, wrote a #1 hit for Barry Manilow and inherited even more money from his parents than he ever made with his music. They don't need to make money anymore. They're doing what they like.

I'm not Mike Love's biggest fan. I don't think he's a very nice person. But thinking that everything that has ever gone wrong with The Beach Boys has been his fault is far from the truth. People like to think of Brian as the hero and Mike as the villain, but it's not that black and white.

Read the article carefully. Mike Love does not have the authority to tell Brian or Al if they are Beach Boys or not. He however does have the authority to hire or fire them from the live band. Because Brian and Al gave him that authority.

I'm not Mike Love's biggest fan. I don't think he's a very nice person. But thinking that everything that has ever gone wrong with The Beach Boys has been his fault is far from the truth. People like to think of Brian as the hero and Mike as the villain, but it's not that black and white.

Yes Joost I read the article carefully. I just find that in this particular case Mike hasn't been very clever by applying immediately the strict terms of the contract. I don't accept that he can claim on the one hand that they are all loving brothers blah blah and then on the other hand that he can't make an exception in the the current situation.This confirms what you say about him not being a very nice person!And I'm always surprised that people who have got a lot of money always seem to want more.But OK maybe you're right. I'm just a bit sceptical!

It's not really about the strict terms of a contract. It's much more complicated than that. The Mike & Bruce Band and the band that did the reunion tour are both named The Beach Boys, but they're two entirely different organizations with a different staff, different backing musicians, different managers... Brian took most of his own band plus his whole family with him on the last tour, Al and Dave both had their people... The reunion tour version of the band is just too big (literally and figuratively) to play the small and humble casinos & state fairs tour that was already booked for the Mike & Bruce Band well before the reunion tour even started.

And you've got to give Mike a little bit of credit. As much as I love the Wilson brothers, I'm sure it was often a nightmare having to work with them. Dennis was a short-fused drug and alcohol addict who often got into fist fights with Mike, slept with at least one of his wives and married his daughter just to p*ss him off. Carl seemed stable, but he too was addicted to drugs and alcohol for a few years. And Brian, we all know his story. Despite all the madness around him, Mike was always there, keeping the band going. And after 51 years, he's still there, carrying the torch, probably until the day he drops. You've got to give him some respect for that.

And you've got to give Mike a little bit of credit. As much as I love the Wilson brothers, I'm sure it was often a nightmare having to work with them. Dennis was a short-fused drug and alcohol addict who often got into fist fights with Mike, slept with at least one of his wives and married his daughter just to p*ss him off. Carl seemed stable, but he too was addicted to drugs and alcohol for a few years. And Brian, we all know his story. Despite all the madness around him, Mike was always there, keeping the band going. And after 51 years, he's still there, carrying the torch, probably until the day he drops. You've got to give him some respect for that.

I my opinion where there's a will there's a way. Mike could at least have postponed his tour and extended the reunion tour. And by doing what he's doing he's not 'carrying the torch' but extinguishing it.

And if he hates Dennis then what's he doing on stage doing a tribute to him?

And what of Al Jardine in all this? Wasn't he the one to be most offended by Mike's attitude?

I my opinion where there's a will there's a way. Mike could at least have postponed his tour and extended the reunion tour. And by doing what he's doing he's not 'carrying the torch' but extinguishing it.

And if he hates Dennis then what's he doing on stage doing a tribute to him?

And what of Al Jardine in all this? Wasn't he the one to be most offended by Mike's attitude?

If there's a will, then Brian, Al and David can wait until this tour (which was already planned well before they agreed to do a temporary reunion) is over.

Where exactly did I say that Mike hated Dennis? I can't look into his mind. I only said that IF Mike was annoyed by Dennis's behavior, he had several good reasons for that.

Al does have the right to be offended, I can't really argue with that.

Today! if you want to hear the missing link between early Beach Boys and Pet Sounds.Friends if you want to hear them chilling out, not trying hard but succeeding anyway.Smiley Smile for a cool and crazy "Smile's not going to happen, f*ck it, let's get stoned" party

Brian has replied to Mike ! It seems to leave the door open for more real Beach Boys concerts.

What do you think Joost? Here it is :

I've been asked to respond to a letter that my cousin Mike wrote to the L.A. Times regarding the circumstances of the last couple weeks and the confusion of the future of The Beach Boys. Normally I wouldn't respond to something like this, but because I love what the 50th has done for the band's image and its legacy, I feel I need to.

First, I want to say that the last few months have been some of the happiest in my life. Recording "That's Why God Made The Radio" was a dream come true, to be able to co-write and produce an album for the boys and have it so well received by fans all over the world was the best!

The tour that followed blew away all my expectations. We had a blast, the fans were so supportive and I loved being able to record and sing with the guys. My only regret was that Carl and Dennis were not there to share this experience with us.

Now on to the rumors: As far as I know I can't be fired--that wouldn't be cool. The negativity surrounding all the comments bummed me out. What's confusing is that by Mike not wanting or letting Al, David and me tour with the band, it sort of feels like we're being fired.

What's a bummer to Al and me is that we have numerous offers to continue, so why wouldn't we want to? We all poured our hearts and souls into that album and the fans rewarded us by giving us a No. 3 debut on the Billboard charts, and selling out our shows. We were all blown away by the response.

Al and I would like to be included in the continuous promotion of "That's Why God Made The Radio." That's what I've been doing for over a decade: making records and going out and supporting them. It's what I do. Capitol Records has been so cool to us this year in terms of supporting the 50th and I personally want to say thanks.

Mike kept saying throughout the tour "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," and both Al and I agree, which made us all think that he wanted to continue. We originally started out with 50 shows, but the success and the demand kept growing and we obliged. No one knew in the beginning that this was going to be so rewarding and popular with our fans. Once we got cooking we were all stoked!

After Mike booked a couple of shows with Bruce, Al and I were, of course, disappointed. Then there was confusion in some markets when photos of me, Al and David and the 50th reunion band appeared on websites advertising his shows.

At that point my attorney merely suggested to Mike's attorney that a possible press release in those markets might be appropriate to stop the confusion, which was in no one's best interest. That's it, plain and simple, and a strategy was open for discussion, which never happened.

That’s why I was completely blindsided by his press release. I had no idea that it was coming out, since it was crafted by Mike's personal PR firm without my knowledge or approval. No one in my camp would have approved it or the timing.

I'm disappointed that Mike would now say that the release was done at the request of my representative. The first I heard about it was at the Grammy Museum event. We hadn't even discussed as a band what we were going to do with all the offers that were coming in for more 50th shows.

Al and I just assumed based on everyone's enthusiasm we would at least want to take those offers into consideration since we all knew about them. I mean, who wouldn't want to play the Hollywood Bowl again, Madison Square Garden and Wrigley Field? And what better way to celebrate New Year's Eve than with the 50th band? That would have blown the lid off things.

There were also offers for more shows in the U.K. and markets we weren't able to play during the tour. As I said before, it's my opinion that we should all go out together as the Beach Boys in support of all our new releases. We really weren't out on the road that long for an anniversary of this magnitude and I actually think we should make one last record together.

It's Al and my opinion that all of us together makes for a great representation of the Beach Boys.

While I appreciate the nice cool things Mike said about me in his letter, and I do and always will love him as my cousin and bandmate, at the same time I'm still left wondering why he doesn't want to continue this great trip we're on. Al and I want to keep going because we believe we owe it to the music.

That's it in a nutshell, all these conversations need to be between the shareholders, and I welcome Mike to call me.

In any case happy anniversary, I loved it and I think we knocked it out of the park for what it's worth.

I think it's great that Brian's so enthousiastic about the reunion and that he wants to keep touring as a Beach Boy. And if Brian wants to be a full time Beach Boy again, than he and Mike (and Al, and David) should work it out. When there's a will, there's a way.

I do think that Brian should be patient and let Mike and Bruce wrap things up with their version of the band. That band has been touring for 14 years now, you can't just ask them to drop everything and cancel tours that were already booked months ago.

I also think that these guys should learn to communicate with each other personally, instead of through the media or their lawyers. Will they ever learn?

If you're looking for their classic sound, I would recommend you All Summer Long, Today! and Summer Days; other than Pet Sounds, those are the most essential albums. A greatest hits collection focussed on the mid-60's period is also highly recommendable.

June 26th - in a Rolling Stone article, Mike announces he's booked post-C50 dates with the BRI-sanctioned lineup. Brian comments "I wasn't aware that Mike had some shows in South America. News to me."

September 23rd - at the opening of the BB exhibit at the Grammy Museum, Mike issues a press release underlining the composition of the band touring in October. Brian expresses surprise (at something he knew about and commented on three months previously), stating "I'm disappointed and can't understand why he doesn't want to tour with Al, David and me. We are out here having so much fun. After all, we are the real Beach Boys."

October 5th - Mike sends a letter to the LA Times explaining that, amongst other things, he issued the original press release at the request of Brian's representative.

October 7th - also in the LA Times, Brian responds to Mike's explanation, stating that "my attorney merely suggested to Mike's attorney that a possible press release in those markets might be appropriate to stop the confusion, which was in no one's best interest"... and also "I'm disappointed that Mike would now say that the release was done at the request of my representative".

I don't think that Mike is to blame for anything here. Seems more like either Brian's memory is not very good, or he's deliberately trying to make Mike look bad.

I love The Beatles, they're my second favorite band, and they were my favorite band until I discovered The Beach Boys. But I have to disagree with you here. As good as The Beatles were, I personally don't think they ever recorded anything as brilliant and beautiful as, say, 'God Only Knows', 'Good Vibrations', 'Surf's Up', 'Time To Get Alone', 'This Whole World' or 'Cabinessence'.

Pet Sounds was a great album, as would Smile have been but who exactly plays on those tracks?

Session musicians. But Pet Sounds was really more a Brian Wilson solo album than a Beach Boys album. Same thing with Smile. But contrary to what most people believe, The Beach Boys did in fact play their own instruments on a large majority of their records. And even if they didn't, the session musicians were playing what Brian Wilson told them to play. It all came from his mind. They weren't a manufactured group like The Monkees.

As good as The Beatles were, I personally don't think they ever recorded anything as brilliant and beautiful as, say, 'God Only Knows', 'Good Vibrations', 'Surf's Up', 'Time To Get Alone', 'This Whole World' or 'Cabinessence'.

I agree with this and I also think neither of The Beatles' albums are as good as 'Pet Sounds'. But when comparing their careers as a whole, The Beatles definitely win. The Beach Boys had incredible highs, but much, much worse lows. But then again, obviously, The Beatles were only active for 10 years, whereas The BB's are still going!